Western Europe

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT WESTERN EUROPE - PAGE 4

As Germany elects its next Chancellor, the two main candidates, Gerhard Schroeder and Edmund Stoiber, agree on one thing: unemployment must be reduced. Over the past two decades, high unemployment has transformed Europe in general and Germany in particular into a sociological time bomb. What will the unemployed do with themselves and their time? What will happen to confidence in governments that cannot solve the problem? A little more than 50 years ago, Europe was the world's most violent continent.

MUMBAI: Indian IT firms looking to reduce dependency on the US and increase Europe revenues may have to wait a little longer for that big boost, or pursue acquisitions more aggressively to get a local presence in Europe, as a majority of European companies continue to show a high preference for local vendors to service their IT needs. "Growth in IT spending by European companies is moderating, but the good news is that faster growth pockets exist where European suppliers perform well in comparison with overseas rivals -- IT services, mobile devices and enterprise software," consultancy firm KPMG said in a study released for European markets recently.

MUMBAI: Indian IT firms looking to reduce dependency on the US and increase Europe revenues may have to wait a little longer for that big boost, or pursue acquisitions more aggressively to get a local presence in Europe, as a majority of European companies continue to show a high preference for local vendors to service their IT needs. "Growth in IT spending by European companies is moderating, but the good news is that faster growth pockets exist where European suppliers perform well in comparison with overseas rivals — IT services, mobile devices and enterprise software," consultancy firm KPMG said in a study released for European markets recently.

MUMBAI: Indian IT firms looking to reduce dependency on the US and boost Europe revenues may have to wait a little longer. Even pursuing an aggressive acquisition policy to get a local presence in Europe may have to be put on hold, as a majority of European companies continue to show a high preference for local vendors to service their IT needs. "Growth in IT spending by European companies is moderating, but the good news is that faster growth pockets exist where European suppliers perform well in comparison to overseas rivals ?

NEW DELHI: Uncle Sam may soon lose its favourite whipping boy--the Indian IT industry. Given the public outcry against outsourcing and potential legislation in the US, Indian IT companies are now looking at virgin territories like Europe and Asia-Pacific. Companies such as Perot Systems, Mastek are now putting extra emphasis on Europe and Asia-Pacific. According to Ashank Desai, CMD, Mastek, "Europe is a key market for us. Even in the current economic scenario, our revenues from the European market have been growing at 60%. " Though interest is growing both among Indian companies and companies in these regions, hurdles are ever present.

MUMBAI: Traditionally, China is seen as the main competitor, as well as a huge opportunity, for Indian software services companies. However, East Europe has also emerged as a source of potential threat and opportunity for the Indian software industry. In fact, after China, Indian companies are busy chalking out their strategy for East Europe. Countries in East Europe have good educational infrastructure and language skills, which make the region an ideal launch pad for tapping opportunities in the rest of Europe.

By Andrew Higgins BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA: As Europe struggles to keep Greece from default and to hold its common currency together, violent protests against immigration in Slovakia and election results in Denmark over the weekend have strengthened the forces of disunion unleashed by an impassioned debate over how to deal with a flood of migrants from conflict zones. The protests here in Bratislava, organized by an extremist outfit called Stop the Islamization of Europe, ended with more than 100 arrests on Saturday.

MILAN: Unicredit, Italy's biggest bank by capitalisation, said on Thursday it planned to cut 9,000 jobs in western Europe and invest in central and eastern Europe to boost profits. Staffing in western European markets, mainly Italy, Austria and Germany, is to be reduced "which will impact some 9,000 of the 100,000 jobs" in the region, the company said in a statement presenting its strategic plan for 2008-10. "(In) central and eastern Europe, the group will expand its network significantly, while in western Europe the focus will be on optimisation, efficiency, restructuring and cost control," the bank added.

LONDON: Procter & Gamble Co, the world's biggest consumer goods group, is gaining market share in Europe helped by new products and by making versions of its brands at lower prices to cope with tough economies. The Cincinnati-based Gillette razor and Tide detergent maker has launched new automatic dishwasher and stain removal products over the last two years, while a new Gillette Fusion ProGlide razor blade is due in Europe. "We have been growing market share each month over the last seven months," Procter & Gamble Western European President Gianni Ciserani told Reuters on the sideline of the global summit of the consumer goods forum in London.

MUMBAI: Nearly 100 Indian companies are expected to participate in the Euro-Indian Technology Sourcing (EITS) 2014 business summit to be held at Metz in France between December 9-11 this year. EITS 2014 is a business convention proposed to Indian and European companies looking to establish new contacts and boost their trade relations in the fields of materials, energy and processes, Claude Bitte , Vice President of General Council Moselle, said. "We expected a total of about 300 participating companies from France, India and Germany to participate in EITS 2014 this year, which includes 100 companies from India.